Nigerian Exchange Drops by N140bn as Investors Exit Positions
The Nigerian Exchange dropped by about N140 billion in the just concluded week as equities investors in the market exited some of their positions ahead of earnings releases.
The local bourse saw a mixed outing as the benchmark index took a beating for the second straight week and driven by bargain hunting activities and portfolio repositioning, Cowry Asset Limited told investors in a note.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed that all-share index nosedived by 0.35% week-on-week and settling at 99,671.28 points following stock holders portfolio re-alignment as earnings festival set to gain momentum.
Stockbrokers reported that investors incurred a total loss of N139.9 billion over three out of five trading sessions this week, bringing the year-to-date return of the index to 33.30%.
Trading activity ended on a mixed note in the market last week. The total traded volume was up by 22.4% week-on-week to 2.77 billion units, as well as the total weekly traded value rising by 173.5% week-on-week to N85.23 billion.
The market breadth was relative flat, with 38 weekly gainers compared to 39 weekly losers, according to the Nigerian Exchange report.
Despite this, the total number of trades for the week decreased marginally by 4.80% week-on-week to 40,794 deals, Cowry Asset Limited told investors in a note.
Sectoral performance was weak the banking lead the laggards due to losses in GTCO, UBA. The index was followed by insurance and consumer goods sectors, which declined by 0.36% and 0.09% week-on-week on the back of negative price movement in SOVRENINS, CHIPLC, PZ CUSSONS, and TANTALIZER.
Conversely, the Oil & Gas and NGX Industrial indices reported gains of 1.38% and 0.05% week-on-week as ETERNA, COINOIL, LAFARGE and UPDCREIT rallied.
Top performers include LIVESTOCK (+27%), VERITASKAP (+25%), ABCTRANS (+20%), ETERNA (+18%), and VITAFOAM (+18%).
These stock emerged as the best-performing securities due to positive activities that propelled their price movements, according to stockbrokers at Cowry Asset Limited.
It was noted that negative investor sentiment led to sell-offs in AFRIPRUD (-18%), PZ (-10%), THOMASWY (-10%), CWG (-10%), and TANTALIZER (-10%);
In its note, Cowry Research thinks market momentum is expected to continue with ongoing bargain hunting and portfolio adjustments in anticipation of the June Consumer Price Index and half-year corporate earnings reports.
“These upcoming economic indicators are likely to influence investor decisions and market trends in the face of weak sentiments”.
Overall, equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange dropped by N139.9 billion to N56.44 trillion on Friday in the market. #Nigerian Exchange Drops by N140bn as Investors Exit Positions
